Though
jazz remained his first love, tenor saxophonist Sil Austin recorded in a variety
of genres over the course of his long career, including R&B, jump blues,
country, pop, and even (on one occasion) disco-ish funk. Born Silvester Austin
in Dunnellon, FL, on September 17, 1929, Austin began playing around age 12,
inspired by swing legends like Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. He moved to New
York while still a teenager, and in 1946 won a talent show at the Apollo with a
rendition of "Danny Boy." His biggest breaks came in 1949, when he joined up
first with Roy Eldridge and then with Cootie Williams' Birdland house band,
where he stayed for three years. After spending 1953-1954 with Tiny Bradshaw (who
helped him write the song that Ella Fitzgerald later turned into his nickname,
"Ping Pong"), Austin struck out on his own and signed with Mercury, scoring a
Top Five R&B/Top 20 pop hit with 1956's "Slow Walk." "Birthday Party" was
another big hit, and in 1959, he released his most popular and controversial
album, Sil Austin Plays Pretty for the People, which produced a small hit in
Austin's return to "Danny Boy," but was criticized by jazz purists for its
orchestral pop sound. Austin remained with Mercury for 12 years; in 1973, he
moved to Atlanta and recorded for small independent labels off and on, all the
way through the mid-'90s. Austin lost a four-year battle with prostate cancer on
September 1, 2001.

...Soft, Plaintive & Moody - Sil
AUSTIN & His
ORCHESTRA - September Song / Gone Again / Around The World / At
Last / Trust In Me / Don't Get Around Much Anymore / Moonlight Becomes You /
(All Of A Sudden) My Heart Becomes You / Please Send Me Someone To Love / I
Got It Bad And That Ain't Good / Monnlight In Vermont / These Foolish Things

Sil Austin Plays Pretty For The People Again - I'm In The Mood For
Love / The Lonely One / Cry Me A River / The Rose Tattoo / To Love Again /
Harlem Nocturne / Broken Promises / Save The Last Dance For Me / On A Tropic
Night / Oh Rose, My Rose / Good Night

Again Plays Pretty - Gone Again / Around The World / At Last / Don't
Get Around Much Anymore / Moonlight Becomes You / My Heart Sings / Please Me
Someone To Love / I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good / Moonlight In Vermont /
These Foolish Things

Honey Sax - Danny Boy / Alfie / Red Roses For A Blue Lady / San
Francisco (Wear Some Flowers) / Turn The World Around / Days Of Wine And
Roses / Honey / A Whiter Shade Of Pale / I Really Don't Want To Know / I Was
Made To Love Her / Ode To Billy Joe